TheUnlockr Featured on CNBC’s Street Signs Discussing Windows Phone 7, Let’s Continue the Debate Here
So don’t let the video fool you. I have nothing against Windows Phone 7 or Microsoft for that matter. I’ve actually used a Mango device and personally think it’s great, different, and has potential. The issue I have is mainly the marketing Microsoft is doing.
I’ve asked a few of my friends what they think of Windows Phone 7 and a huge number of them responded, “Windows what?”. I know for a fact these people have seen the Windows Phone 7 commercials and yet they still have no clue it even exists. If they don’t know it exists, they obviously don’t know the benefits and what differentiates it from Android and iPhone. That’s a problem.
Have you seen Microsoft’s commercials for Windows Phone? “A phone to save us from our phones” is their slogan. They say that their devices can get you in, get what you need, and get out faster than any other device. There are a few things wrong with this campaign, in my opinion.
First, if I wanted to get in and out of my phone as fast as possible, I would buy a flip, non-smartphone. I bought a smartphone because occasionally I want to play a game, spend time on the internet, and just generally get lost in it once in a while. Second, if I have an issue with using my phone too much, do you think that you pointing it out is going to make me want to stop and then buy your device? Most likely not. Instead your just going to make me mad by pointing out a flaw I’m actively trying to deny (I can put my phone down whenever I want… I swear…). Thirdly, we’ve even done a test to prove that Windows Phone 7 wasn’t much faster than any other device at opening the camera app, taking a picture, and uploading it to Facebook (which is what they do in one of their commercials using skydivers as a “real-life test”).
Again, not saying Windows Phone is bad, but Microsoft isn’t doing a good job of showing people why it’s good. The commercials are memorable (“Can I date Emily when your… nevermind”) don’t get me wrong. But they fail to show off the phones/software and again people watch them, laugh, and then don’t know what the product in the commercial really was beyond the fact that it’s some phone.
Microsoft needs to show some of the great new and existing features that Windows Phone will bring:
- Automatically tags your friends in pictures and uploads them tagged to Facebook? For a Facebook addicted society, that’s something pretty cool that the other operating systems don’t do.
- The ability to upload videos to Facebook? Simple, right? Well, you can’t do it on Android or iPhone natively…
- Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn contact integration. Pretty much covers all the major contacts your average person uses (if they could add some CRM applications into that list like SugarCRM or SalesForce, I bet that would be an exciting feature for enterprise customers as well).
- The sheer smoothness of the OS itself. Have to say, besides the glitches I’ve run into (which any new OS will have), the way the scrolling, swiping, and pinching works on the phone is like butter. I have to say smoother than Android and maybe even the iPhone…
- and pick some of the other 500 new features and just push the best to the consumer…
Go ahead and chime in with what you think is Windows Phone 7’s big problems are (or Microsoft’s for that matter), everyone. No bashing OS’s please, let’s try to keep this civil, ladies and gentlemen.
the biggest problem like you say on the video, is “too little, too late.” if the OS were to launch when Android launched or even a short time after that, it would have had a real chance of actually competing with Android and of course, the iPhone…and yes, very few phones, the names of which people wouldn’t care to even remember
Windows phone is waayyyy cooler than iPhone or Android…but you are EXACTLY right, Microsoft’s marketing SUCKS! They even had commercials using cartoon characters…WHAT THE HELL! You market TOYS with cartoon characters. These people get paid a lot of money, it’s a shame that they have no idea how to market electronics, it’s almost like they’ve never been out in society and don’t know what appeals to people (and which people they need to be appealing to). They need to show cool people doing cool things with the phone…and declaring that Windows Phone “..is just better!” Wake up Microsoft…and kick “Mr. Rogers” off your marketing team! (..U know what I mean).
Microsoft: You need to show Snoop Dogg and Eminem using Windows Phones….and iPhone and Android will INSTANTLY be yesterday’s news. It really is that simple. WAKE UP!